vindieselgrootIt wasn’t much of a surprise when it became official that Vin Diesel will portray Groot in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel made it known that Diesel was in talks for a project, and Diesel dropped more than a hint on his Facebook.

To put it lightly, Groot is a humanoid tree who communicates by saying, “I am Groot” in different expressions. If anyone is capable of emoting with such limited vocabulary, it’s Diesel. He has an uncanny voice, and he’s proven with The Iron Giant that he’s a very capable voice actor. Not to mention, all his voice work on his Riddick video games.

During breaks on Fast and Furious 7, Vin Diesel was spending time walking around on stilts for his role as Groot. Luckily, there’s a YouTube video of the affair. As you’d expect, he’s having a blast. And it’s safe to say that Diesel will motion capture for Groot as well.

The more I hear about Guardians of the Galaxy, the more I’m excited for the film. It’s a huge departure from the previous Marvel movies. Aliens are prominent. Two of which are either a walking, talking tree, or a talking raccoon with guns.

Guardians of the Galaxy releases in theaters August 1, 2014.